Why Patrick Mahomes couldn’t resist wild play in Chiefs’ win — even if he should have
From a purely practical standpoint, the most reassuring aspect of Patrick Mahomes’ second — and likely last — 2023 preseason appearance was self-evident: the 10-play, 92-yard touchdown drive he deftly orchestrated on Saturday at State Farm Stadium in a 38-10 victory over Arizona.
Well, that and staying healthy.
Mahomes being Mahomes, though, the most memorable and telling moment of his night was an incompletion he threw on third-and-16 from the Chiefs’ 42-yard line on the previous drive.
While the ball ultimately glanced off the hand of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mahomes’ anti-gravity, across-the-body pass as he sprang out of bounds was mesmerizing affirmation of his creative genius: After all, any given play is a canvas to unveil or a boundary to be explored.
It also was yet another glance at his indomitable will in the face of those seeking to shut him down.
But enough about offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, who was screaming at Mahomes to get out of bounds instead of risking injury — a coaching point that Mahomes suggested he hadn’t absorbed until after the fact.
Never mind that five Cardinals were closing in on him, and three were in range to hit him as he made himself vulnerable going up and out.
“I wasn’t going to get hit,” Mahomes said, smiling. “So, I mean, as long as I’m not taking any hits, I can try some stuff out.”
Easy for him to say but harder for others to accept knowing Mahomes actually wants to get hit, albeit not too hard, at least once in the preseason. He hadn’t then, or by the end of his night, gotten his wish.
After the game, he said he went to the line and griped, “‘Man, I play in the preseason to get hit one time and literally didn’t get touched in two games.’ So yeah, they did a great job. It’s a good problem to have.”
For the record, that notion is as close as it gets to any philosophical difference he might have with coach Andy Reid.
Forget the mind-meld when it comes to the health of the force of nature that he won’t even allow to execute a quarterback sneak any more.
“He doesn’t need to get hit,” Reid said, matter of factly.
For that matter, Mahomes maybe didn’t even need to conduct a preseason scoring drive to be in the right frame of mind when the Chiefs play host to the Detroit Lions Sept. 7 to open the NFL season and begin in earnest their quest to repeat as champions.
But following an uneventful cameo appearance in the preseason opener last week at New Orleans and two humdrum drives against the Cardinals that had resulted in one first down Saturday, it felt like about time to flash a reminder of what has made him a two-time NFL and Super Bowl MVP — and the Chiefs a perennial contender.
Never mind that the prime directive of the preseason is first do no harm, followed closely by staying as generic as possible. And not that there was a shred of anything to doubt in Mahomes even with substantial changes on the offensive line and in the receiver room around him.
But the full Mahomes experience is still one of those diagnostic elements you like to see revved up before he’s asked to perform for real. As it happened, he actually had extra incentive in the meaningless game.
“I was telling the guys, if we don’t want to keep playing, we better score,” he said, smiling. “Because Coach Reid is going to keep us in this game until we score.”
On the drive, Mahomes completed 7 of 8 passes to six different receivers. The sequence was punctuated by his 12-yard completion to Justyn Ross — who added to the bubbling hype by shedding a would-be defender to get open — a 21-yard laser to MVS and a scrambling 18-yard touchdown pass to a diving Justin Watson.
Good stuff that even Mahomes would later tell Reid he needed to gain rhythm and momentum with the regular season approaching so soon — and Mahomes almost certain not to play in the preseason finale against Cleveland on Saturday back in Kansas City.
Between the energizing drive and the never-ending nerve to try a maneuver that unnerved about everyone else, keeping the uncanny Mahomes out next week would be cause for celebration in itself.
Because about the only way to get him to give up on a play is for him to not be in it at all — a riveting trait when the games count and a really unsettling one when they don’t.
This story was originally published August 20, 2023 at 6:30 AM with the headline "Why Patrick Mahomes couldn’t resist wild play in Chiefs’ win — even if he should have."